Discuss the extent, classification, and currency of government data sources and their influence on mapping

List the data required to compile a map that conveys a specified message

Discuss the issue of conflation of data from different sources or for different uses as it relates to mapping

Describe a situation in which it would be acceptable to use smaller-scale data sources for compilation to compile a larger scale map

Describe the copyright issues involved in various cartographic source materials

Explain how data acquired from primary sources, such as satellite imagery and GPS, differ from data compiled from maps, such as DLGs

Explain how digital data compiled from map sources influences how subsidiary maps are compiled and used

Explain how geographic names databases (i.e., gazetteer) are used for mapping

Explain how the inherent properties of digital data, such as Digital Elevation Models, influence how maps can be compiled from them

Identify the types of attributes that will be required to map a particular distribution for selected geographic features

Determine the standard scale of compilation of government data sources

Assess the data quality of a source dataset for appropriateness for a given mapping task, including an evaluation of the data resolution, extent, currency or date of compilation, and level of generalization in the attribute classification

Discuss the nature and use of virtual environments, such as Google Earth

Explain how various data formats and software and hardware environments support immersive visualization

Compare and contrast the relative advantages of different immersive display systems used for cartographic visualization (e.g., CAVEs, GeoWalls)

Evaluate the extent to which a GeoWall or CAVE does or does not enhance understanding of spatial data

Explain how the virtual and immersive environments become increasingly more complex as we move from the relatively non-immersive VRML desktop environment to a stereoscopic display (e.g., a GeoWall) to a more fully immersive CAVE

Mapmaking, by digital or manual methods, involves taking complex geographic information and building a visual image with many components. Creating effective maps requires an understanding of how to construct the elements of the map into a coherent whole that executes the communicative purpose of the map. Visual hierarchy and layout are the cartographer’s tools for organizing the map and completing the map construction. The cartographer layers the mapped geography in an image into a visual hierarchy emphasizing some features and de-emphasizing others in vertical ordering of information. Likewise, the cartographer arranges the components of a map image—title, main map, inset map, north arrow, scale, legend, toolbar, etc.—into a layout that guides the reader’s eye around the horizontal plane of the map. The visual hierarchy and layout processes work together to create the structure of the map image.